Just breaking courtesy of Flyguy.net and one of the SW collector fan pages on Facebook: the possibility that the final wave of The Vintage Collection might not actually make it to American, Canadian and Australian retail?

This report has not been confirmed nor has it been conclusively refuted, and the FB page lit up like a Christmas tree when the report hit. The final waves of quite a few previous STAR WARS figure lines were either very, very badly distributed or were AWOL: Episode I, Revenge of the Sith, the 30th Anniversary Collection(TAC) and the Legacy Collection 2009-10 being the most egregious examples of retail Fail.

Sio Bibble? Jaina and Jacen Solo, anyone?

Now, as I said...nothing's been confirmed. As of right now this is just a report. And to be frank, retail distribution is already pretty bad so if the final Vintage figures never made to to U.S., Canadian or Aussie store pegs I can't say it'd be all that huge a difference from the current retail situation. But the last wave contains a whopping 12 figures, including the four repacks of the Episode I figures (Aurra Sing, Mawhonic, Gungan Warrior, Naboo Pilot) that a lot of people didn't get a crack at the first time they were out earlier this year. The last wave also contains the long-awaited Emperor's Royal Guard army builder with swappable head and shoulder armor, so if this wave gets completely screwed at retail there are gonna be a lot of seriously miffed collectors out there.

Anyways, just thought I'd share the report in the interest of fairness and disclosure. It might not amount to anything, but I know there are some people in this thread who'd like to know.

One of the first photos of the regular Vintage Collection cardfront for the new Jar Jar Binks. I as well as many others already have this figure on alternative, limited-edition packaging(the "Lost Line") but this is the general retail version that will be much more common and that most people will see.

Not bad. Even if you don't like Jar Jar this cardfront photo is very cool and attractive. Nice, bright and colorful.

But yeah, this version of Jar Jar is supposed to be the much more common one everyone will see.

Hey, did you read the earlier post about the possibility of the final wave of Vintage not making it to stores? As of right now, nothing's been confirmed nor refuted, but if that happens it won't be the first time the last wave of a line has gotten screwed like a ten-dollar hooker. You'd think, though, that after more than a decade of this periodically happening that the suits would take proper steps to ensure proper retail access and success for their product, if for no other reasons than their own image and bottom line.

Oh well. Like I said above I'll avoid any snarky "Hasbro blows" remarks for the sake of being nice...but I'm just not surprised anymore. Those guys just love to put their company foot in bear traps.

Yeah, I read it. By this point, I just don't give a shit. It won't affect me in the slightest, since that wave was never going to make it to retail around me anyways. Any enthusiasm I ever had for Star Wars collecting is dead and buried thanks to Hasbro's distribution.

The biggest problem is that at the beginning of the year, or the start of a new line, they flood the shelves with stuff that nobody wants. Nobody had found Hawkeye or Black Widow from the Avengers because the shelves are still overflowing with three different versions of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America so stores aren't ordering more. Or with the 6" line, they put out two different case assortments at once, that each only have half the characters. Most stores are only ordering the first which has, you guessed it, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. Hulk, Hawkeye, and Loki are no shows almost everywhere. Don't get me started on the first two waves of Return of Marvel Legends being released within a month of each other, and no refresher cases ever being sent out.

Mattel isn't really much better. I still saw DC Universe wave 10 warming pegs in some places. The line reached 20 waves before the end. The Green Lantern Movie Masters were another fiasco. Everything beyond Wave 1 was pretty much an online exclusive.

In better news, I managed to snag one of the SDCC exclusive Movie Masters Bruce Wayne figures off of Matty before they sold out. It comes in a really awesome Wayne Manor themed box with sound effects, and has a full separate batsuit. Even as a die hard opener, this is one that's staying in the box, or at least the box and batsuit are getting worked into my display.

This video shows it off a bit:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=248yYA5Mckg&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

I heard about the SDCC Bruce Wayne but hadn't seen it yet. That's cool! That's awesome that you were able to get your hands on one of him...I don't blame you for not opening this one. With Con exclusives you just never know if you'll ever get a second one to play around with. Best to play it safe sometimes.

SDCC had some badass exclusives this year, that's for sure. I'm glad I got my Carbonite Chamber set and figures, because now that thing's in short supply if some people can even get it at all. The MLP Derpy figure sold out the very first day, for crying out loud. You didn't even have time to breathe before the Derpster was history.

Comic-Con sure knows how to pimp great product. It's an overpriced and sometimes overrated mess, but it sure knows how to tempt genre fans with awesome collectibles.

Its not even so much the fact that I won't get another. Its the fact that the box is freaking awesome and has electronic components to it.

Click to expand...

Its just like my Young Justice Superboy that comes in the stasis chamber. Its such an awesome box that I'd never open it.

Click to expand...

I'm the same way with my Target exclusive 3-pack sets. There's not a single electronic component nor incorporated, interactive backdrop in any of them, but the packaging is based on that of the original SW action figure "Special" three-packs from my early childhood and have such a cool, wistful retro look and feel to them that I don't crack open and damage them to preserve that whole "1980" feel of everything.

In our hobby, there are some occasions when the packaging is just as important as the goodies inside.